WATCH KLOBUCHAR’S FULL REMARKS HERE
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, held a hearing titled “Continuing a Bipartisan Path Forward for Antitrust Enforcement and Reform.” The hearing focused on areas of bipartisan agreement in antitrust enforcement, including cases brought under the past two administrations to address consolidation and monopolization markets including technology, healthcare, and live event ticketing, as well as the bipartisan collaboration among state attorneys general. The hearing caps Senator Klobuchar’s four years as Subcommittee Chairwoman, which included 20 hearings examining competition issues in markets as diverse as journalism, housing, prescription drugs, Big Tech, and supply chains.
“Recent polling shows that Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike believe that there's a problem when too much power is concentrated in the hands of too few companies. One way we can tackle these problems is to vigorously defend competition and support it, and that means enforcing our antitrust laws. We know through time, and this is the nature of capitalism, that truly competitive markets can lower prices, give us better choices, and accelerate innovation. That is what has brought us to where we are in terms of innovation, and it's on us as leaders, as our forefathers have done back through history—and a few foremothers—what they have done is that they have fostered that competition by always making sure we're rejuvenating the antitrust laws and making sure they're getting enforced.” said Klobuchar at the hearing.
As Chair, Klobuchar
- Passed the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), which updated merger filing fees for the first time since 2001, lowering fees on smaller acquisitions and increasing them for the largest mergers, raising additional revenue that Congress can use to fund antitrust enforcement. The legislation also included the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act, Klobuchar’s legislation with Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) to empower state antitrust enforcement by making it easier for state attorneys general litigating antitrust cases to remain in their selected courts.
- Introduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act with Senator Chuck Grassley to set common sense rules of the road for major digital platforms to ensure they cannot abuse their dominance to unfairly preference their own products and services and distort competition. In January 2022, the legislation passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a bipartisan vote of 16-6, making it the first major bill on technology competition to advance to the Senate floor since the dawn of the internet. The bill was reintroduced in June 2023.
- Introduced the Open App Markets Act with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)to promote increased competition and innovation in the software applications and app store markets. In February 2022, the legislation passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a bipartisan vote of 20-2.
- Introduced the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act with eleven her colleagues, including Judiciary Committee members Senators Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Whitehouse (D-RI), Hirono (D-HI), and Welch (D-VT), to modernize our laws so competition can flourish and American consumers are treated fairly. The legislation strengthens prohibitions on anticompetitive mergers, prevents exclusionary conduct by dominant firms, and increases funding for federal antitrust enforcers.
- Introduced the Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), to prevent companies from using algorithms to collude to set higher prices.
A rough transcript of Klobuchar’s opening remarks is available below. Video is available HERE for download.
Klobuchar: I call to order this hearing of the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights. The name of this hearing is very, very fitting for where we are right now: “Continuing a Bipartisan Path Forward For Antitrust Enforcement and Reform.”
And I first want to welcome our witnesses, which I'll do shortly, and I want to thank ranking member Lee and his staff, as well as my staff, for the work they did on this hearing. And I also want to note that we are joined by Senator Grassley, who will be the chair of this committee, and I am very, very honored to have him here and for all of the long-time work that he has done when it comes to antitrust.
And I think it makes our point that this subject transcends party and that it is really important that we keep focused on getting things done when it comes to consolidation and monopolies. We have a lot to do on behalf of the American people, and from my perspective, that means, yes, standing our ground, but it also means finding common ground when we can't.
And one thing on which I know we all agree is that Americans like to have choices. That is the whole nature of capitalism and a competitive economy. Without choices, they get impacted severely when there are disruptions to fragile supply chains, if there are shortages. And one reason for what we're seeing right now with some of the costs in our economy is consolidation. Across more than 75% of our economy, a smaller number of large companies control more of a market than they did 20 years ago. Since 2008, American firms have engaged in more than 10 trillion in acquisitions. That's trillion with a T, and we see this consolidation in everything from cat food to caskets. Maybe that'll be the last time you hear me use that one…
And big tech companies, some of the largest companies the world has ever known, dominate our digital lives, influencing what we see, the products we buy, the voices we hear, and even how smaller businesses can operate and innovate. And that's one of the things during my last few years that's changed. We've had a number of small businesses now coming to us, certainly Senator Grassley and myself, on our bill that we have on tech, saying, “first, we thought this was great. We still need tech. We're glad it's there, but man, it is very hard for us when these big companies are putting their products [first] when they own the channel that these are marketed through, that would be the platforms, and then they also have their own products, and then they're putting them above ours. It's a big problem,” And that's something I think everyone should be watching for as we're seeing more and more support for the work that we're doing.
Americans across the spectrum understand this. Recent polling shows that Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike believe that there's a problem when too much power is concentrated in the hands of too few companies. One way we can tackle these problems is to vigorously defend competition and support it, and that means enforcing our antitrust laws. We know through time, and this is the nature of capitalism, that truly competitive markets can lower prices, give us better choices, and accelerate innovation. That is what has brought us to where we are in terms of innovation, and it's on us as leaders, as our forefathers have done back through history—and a few foremothers —what they have done is that they have fostered that competition by always making sure we're rejuvenating the antitrust laws and making sure they're getting enforced.
Four years ago, Senator Lee and I held a hearing examining what a competition policy for the 21st century should look like. At that hearing, I spoke about cracks in the foundation of our free market economy that stem from a lack of competition.
Since then, I have chaired 19 hearings examining competition problems and algorithms and solutions, everything from consolidation in healthcare and the health insurance market to merger enforcement to housing, as well as the emerging issues that we are seeing, such as the impact of consolidation, as I mentioned, on our supply chain and with changing technology. We looked at what's happening in things like rental housing rental markets when it comes to what is really high-tech collusion with information and how that affects people.
One of the things I was proudest about of our hearings—and the work we've done—is that I believe we have made real change. Yes, we passed some bills. Yes, we got more and more people on board with this. But most importantly, we have continued our role as not just advocates for change, but also for oversight of the agencies, and the work that has been done at the FTC and at the Justice Department.
And the hearing that I will most remember was the work that Senator Lee and I did with Live Nation-Ticketmaster. It was a very memorable hearing because we couldn't really get many artists to come forward. And the one that came forward was Clyde Lawrence of the band Lawrence. He was really an effective witness, and for both Democrats and Republicans alike, it was very helpful for them to hear that[] story of consolidation, [and] how it affects artists. But in any case, during the hearing, I remember this, Mike, because it was one of your great moments. He kept turning around and talking to someone, and people asked me later, because it was a televised hearing, if that was his lawyer. And I said, No, it was his saxophone player, which it was. And so, at one point, a letter was read by a famous star musician by the CEO of Live Nation. And Senator Lee said, “We are all a fan of that musician, but with all due respect, they're not an expert on vertical mergers.” And I saw our witness writing things away, and I'm just like, maybe you want to just stay out of answering this. But it was a very memorable hearing, because you literally couldn't tell on what side of the aisle people came from. And it then led, not only to some work Mike and I did in pushing forward some ideas, and then Senator Cornyn and I have done a major bill for fans in the Commerce Committee.
But out of that came a major, major investigation, and the evidence that we collected in that hearing, I know, informed the Justice Department's decision about moving forward with the work they are doing on the monopoly of Live Nation-Ticketmaster.
This committee has also worked across the aisle to introduce and advance significant antitrust reforms. Such as my legislation with Senator Grassley to update corporate merger fees for the first time in 20 years, as Senator Grassley would always note. It was signed into law, and it allowed for more resources for the agencies. Before this law went into effect, there were more than 350 fewer employees working at the DOJ antitrust division than there were in 1979. And by the way, there was an actual vote on this and showed the significant support of the Senate on both sides for this.
But we also passed legislation, led by Ranking Member Lee, to ensure state enforcers can keep their enforcement actions in the courts they choose, avoiding wasteful, time-consuming venue transfers and consolidation with private lawsuits, and that was supported by Republican and Democratic attorney generals across the nation.
I continue to work with Senator Grassley on our legislation to stop anti-competitive self-preferencing in our digital markets… with Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn to pass their bill to promote competition in app stores. Very, very important. With Ranking Member Lee on our bill to ensure no online advertising giant can control every side of the ad tech market. Of course, a subject of the Justice Department action. Senator Durbin has also been very active in this and in many of the online issues. While these bills have yet, and I emphasize yet, to pass, their contents provide antitrust enforcers a roadmap for remedies on their cases, including the Justice Department's proposed ban on Google self-preferencing its search product in Android.
Finally, the Judiciary Committee has passed numerous bipartisan bills, and we thank Senator Durbin and Senator Grassley for [their] long time work on this, Senator Cornyn and as well as Senator Lindsey Graham to stop the abuses of Big Pharma that keep affordable generic drugs off the market. It's time these bills become law.
Bringing competition issues to the forefront has also resulted in bipartisan consensus that our antitrust laws must be enforced.
I had the honor of introducing Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter. I remember that day well because his son, who was younger, was a big fan of Senator Ossoff and took Senator Ossoff's pencil, and Senate [coaster] as a souvenir from the event.
As senators, this always means a lot when we have, like, a fan base and or a fan of some kind. Senator Ossof was a celebrity to Jonathan Kanter's son. And also I introduced FTC Chair Lina Khan to the Commerce Committee and helped shepherd both of them through the Senate with strong bipartisan votes. Khan 69 to 29, but who's counting? Kanter, 68 to 29. With this bipartisan mandate, they went on to bring major cases involving Google, Amazon, Apple, Live Nation, as I mentioned, and many others, groceries and healthcare.
Importantly, Nearly every single one of these cases and many more, including the FTC's recent successful suit to block the merger of the two major grocery chains, was supported, and this is very key as we go forward and see a change in administration, that it was supported by a strong bipartisan coalition of Attorney Generals across the country. We don't often think of states like California and Oklahoma pairing up—or Minnesota and Texas—but this has happened in many ways for the support of the work that we have done.
Another legacy from the Biden Administration was a continuation of a number of vital cases that started under the Trump administration, prevailing in the Google search case earlier this year and readying the Facebook case for trial next year.
When you think of successful antitrust efforts that have been positive for the public, like the AT&T breakup, when you look at it, AT&T is still there and doing well, but you also have a much better cell phone marketplace and much lower long-distance rates. So, that case spanned several different administrations and different parties. So the Biden administration didn't simply toss cases brought by the Republicans or settle them for pennies on the dollar. They strengthened them. They won them, and we are hopeful that the incoming Trump administration will do the same thing. I will say, I will be watching.
The Biden administration also built on the Trump administration's willingness to litigate the first case challenging a vertical merger in decades. While this case ultimately failed, it paved the way for the Biden FTC and Justice Department to challenge a number of vertical mergers, including unwinding an acquisition that stopped a single company from controlling cutting-edge cancer detection tests and preventing a major chip supplier from acquiring a key chip designer, just before the AI boom.
We have talked a lot in this past election, if any of you noticed, about bringing down costs and how you can do it. And that is why I just want that to continue. I don't want it to be just talk. I want it to be action in every way possible. And to me, that means we're going to have to have strong enforcement of our antitrust laws.
We are here together to say that this has always spanned politics, and that must continue. I'm looking forward to meeting the new nominee for the Antitrust Justice Department position. I know that there are people on both sides of the aisle who have worked with her and said good things. I'm sure I won't agree with everything she ever does or has said. I always have to say that, you know, when you're in the other party. But I just want to strongly encourage her to continue the work that's going on now.
It has been a privilege. I would like to say just this committee to work with Jonathan Kanter. He is somehow the happy warrior through having to deal with a lot of hard cases and a lot of difficult Senator questions from all of us, and that's part of our job. I also, as a member of the Commerce Committee, have enjoyed working with Lina Khan, and I look forward to the confirmation hearing ahead for the antitrust position.
As I prepare to hand the gavel back to Senator Lee… I also again want to acknowledge Chair Durbin, Ranking Member Graham, and, of course, the always present Senator Grassley, who actually texted me this morning about my Christmas card. It was pretty impressive.
So I'd like to thank our committee staff for working together so well and to thank Phil, especially Ben, and Dan, my counsel, and our entire team for their work. And I will turn it over to Senator Lee for his opening remarks.
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